Particle Resistance

Dust and dirt are ubiquitous in the field and have a way of invading the exposed areas of mobile computers, potentially slowing key functions and damaging components. Panasonic tests the ability of Toughbook® computers to withstand dust, sand and other airborne particles.

The Dust Resistance test for our Toughbook® fully-rugged computers and Toughpad® fully-rugged laptops is performed in accordance with MIL-STD-810G, Method 510.5, Procedure I (Dust) and Procedure II (Sand). An operating temperature of up to 140°F is used for this test. The upper non-operating temperature of is incorporated into the test as this is the "default" temperature given by the MIL-STD-810G guidelines. To conduct the most stringent tests, Panasonic uses both silica flour and sand.

To pass the test, a Toughbook computer must continue to operate with no binding or blockage of moving parts and no malfunctioning contacts or relays. In addition, fully-rugged and ultra-mobile-rugged Toughbook computers are IP65 certified1 for dust ingress and are also subjected to rigorous factory testing for dust resistance.

1 Tested by a national independent third party lab following MIL-STD-810G Method 516.6 Procedure IV for transit drop and IEC 60529 Sections 13.4, 13.6.2, 14.2.5 and 14.3 for IP65.